Luxury Hotels Atlas / The Maison / Radisson Blu

Radisson Blu hotels

Scandinavian design roots and a service ethic connect large city hotels, airport stays and resorts.

Radisson Blu brings full-service hospitality to city, airport, and resort hotels, often with substantial architecture and generous public spaces. Its design history reaches back to Copenhagen’s SAS Royal Hotel in 1960, while the brand’s familiar “Yes I Can!” approach gives a shared service identity to a broad international collection.

51 Radisson Blu hotels in 30 countries on the Luxury Hotels Atlas, each placed on the six LHA Tiers.

Owned by Radisson Hotel Group
On the atlas: 1 High Luxury, 5 Core Luxury, 33 Accessible Luxury, 12 Near Luxury

History

The SAS Royal Hotel gave Radisson Blu an early connection to Scandinavian modernism and international aviation. Later ownership changes carried the brand through Carlson and Jin Jiang, with a separate Americas chapter under Choice Hotels. The name continues across city hotels and resorts whose design histories vary considerably.

Timeline

1909 — Radisson Hotel opens in Minneapolis, Minnesota, named for French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson, laying the foundation of the Carlson hotel lineage.
1960 — SAS Group opens the SAS Royal Hotel, Copenhagen, designed in totality by architect Arne Jacobsen, from building form to Egg and Swan chairs to tableware. Widely considered the world's first design hotel. The 22-floor, 261-room tower becomes Denmark's first skyscraper and the largest hotel in Scandinavia.
1982 — SAS International Hotels is spun off as an independent division from the SAS Group, giving the hotel business its own commercial identity.
1994 — Radisson SAS Hotels is created as a formal partnership between Radisson Hotels International (Carlson) and SAS International Hotels for EMEA operations, unifying the two brands under a co-brand umbrella. By 2000 the partnership operates 100 hotels.
2006 — The "Radisson Blu" brand name is formally introduced as a rebranding of Radisson SAS, chosen through a brand research project to move beyond the SAS blue-box identity.
2009 — The SAS partnership ends; all Radisson SAS properties are uniformly rebranded as Radisson Blu. The name "Blu" is codified as the brand's global identity.
2010 — Radisson Blu is named the largest upper-upscale hotel chain in Europe, a designation it will hold for 13+ consecutive years.
2011 — Radisson Blu enters the United States with the opening of the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel, Chicago, occupying the first 18 floors of Studio Gang Architects' Aqua Tower (2009 Emporis Skyscraper of the Year), with 334 rooms and interior design by Graven Images.
2013 — Second U.S. property opens, the Radisson Blu Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota, connected directly to the largest mall in the United States.
2018 — Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group becomes Radisson Hotel Group. Radisson Collection replaces Quorvus Collection, and Arne Jacobsen’s former Radisson Blu Royal Hotel in Copenhagen joins the new brand.
2020 — The former Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, Brussels is transformed into Radisson Collection Hotel, Grand Place Brussels following significant investment, marking Radisson Collection's debut in Belgium.
2021 — Jin Jiang International's majority ownership of Radisson Hotel Group is confirmed. Radisson Hotel Group Americas is established as a separate operating entity in anticipation of a sale.
2022 — Choice Hotels International acquires Radisson Hotels Americas, 624 properties including 10 Radisson Blu hotels in the U.S./Canada, for approximately $675 million. Radisson Hotel Group retains brand ownership outside the Americas.
2024 — Radisson Blu adds more than 20 hotels in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia Pacific. Following refurbishment, the Waterfront hotel in Cape Town joins Radisson Collection as that brand’s first South African address.
2025 — Choice Hotels rebrands visual identities for Radisson Blu Americas with minimalist gradient typeface; begins $15 million renovation of Radisson Blu Mall of America. Radisson Blu CDG Airport Terminal Hotel, Paris opens at Charles de Gaulle, a conversion of the former Pullman Paris Roissy CDG Airport. Radisson Blu Hotel, Florence opens.
2025–2026 — Radisson Hotel Group surpasses 210 signings and openings in 2025; China pipeline approaches 300 hotels. New Radisson Blu flagships open in Shanghai Eastern Hub and Nanjing South New Town.

The houses to know

Radisson Blu Resort Maldives, Huruelhi, Maldives — Huruelhi Island gives the resort its Maldivian setting, with beach and overwater villas within the same retreat.
Radisson Blu Hotel & Convention Centre, Kigali, Kigali, Rwanda — Colored metal panels inspired by Rwandan basket-weaving connect the hotel’s design to the neighboring convention center.
Radisson Blu Hotel, Dubai Barsha Heights, Dubai, United Arab Emirates — The former Media Rotana tower carries its Barsha Heights hotel history into a newer Radisson Blu chapter.
Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Split, Split, Croatia — The hotel faces the Adriatic on Split’s eastern shore, with many rooms opening toward sea or mountain views.
Radisson Blu Bengaluru Outer Ring Road, Bangalore, India — The former Park Plaza gives Radisson Blu a Bengaluru base on Outer Ring Road.
Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Malta Golden Sands, Mellieħa (Golden Bay), Malta — The Malta resort sits above Golden Sands and has received repeated recognition at the World Travel Awards.
Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel, Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand — The rooftop Brewski bar gives the Sukhumvit hotel a sociable setting above Bangkok.
Radisson Blu Palace Resort & Thalasso, Djerba, Djerba, Tunisia — Andalusian influences and a dedicated thalassotherapy institute shape the Djerba resort stay.
Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Hyderabad Banjara Hills, Hyderabad, India — The hotel opened in Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills neighbourhood in July 2012.
Radisson Blu Plaza Chongqing, Chongqing, China — The Nanbin Road tower gives guests a Chongqing base near Nan’an’s food street.

Newest openings

Radisson Blu Hotel, Shanghai Eastern Hub — Shanghai, China — opened 2026 — 445-room flagship tied to Shanghai's Eastern Hub transport and business district; the brand's most prominent new China opening, with large-scale MICE capacity positioned to serve one of the world's busiest business-travel corridors. Radisson Hotel Group press release
Radisson Blu Hotel, Nanjing South New Town — Nanjing, China — opened 2026 — Premium city-center property strengthening the brand's foothold in a rapidly growing Chinese second-tier business hub. Hospitality Net
Radisson Blu CDG Airport Terminal Hotel, Paris — Tremblay-en-France, France — opened late 2025 — 305-room conversion of the former Pullman Paris Roissy CDG Airport, bringing the brand to one of Europe's busiest air gateways; located within the CDG Terminal complex. Radisson Blu hotel page
Radisson Blu Hotel, Florence — Florence, Italy — opened November 2025 — Urban resort concept overlooking the hill of San Miniato al Monte, designed for family leisure and business travel; part of Radisson Hotel Group's seven-property Italy expansion push. Hotel News Resource

Opening next

Radisson Blu Medlock Hotel, Manchester — Manchester, United Kingdom — expected October 2026 — Located within Manchester City's Etihad Campus; an innovative partnership redefining the stadium-hotel concept. Radisson Hotels new hotels page
Radisson Blu Hotel & Residences, Islamabad — Islamabad, Pakistan — expected end of June 2026 — confirmed/in development.
Radisson Blu Hotel, Tbilisi Central Park Towers — Tbilisi, Georgia — expected 2026 — confirmed/in development.
Radisson Blu Resort & Residences, Batumi Gonio — Batumi, Georgia — expected 2026 — 576-room Black Sea resort; in development.